The Collapse of the French Colonial Empire in the Memory Politics of the Fifth Republic

• Published in: Izvestii͡a︡ Altaĭskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta no. 6(116); pp. 77 - 80
• Main Authors: Filippova, E.I., Filippov, V.R.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 18.12.2020
• ISSN: 1561-9443; 1561-9451
• DOI: 10.14258/izvasu(2020)6-13

The historical memory of the French about the collapse of the French colonial empire is controversial and situational. The apologetic version of historical memory interprets French colonialism as the civilizational mission of France on the Black Continent. This version is based on mythologemes formulated by C. de Gaulle and his associates J. Foccart, F. Houphouët-Boigny and others. This is the approach to the historical past that informs the official historical narrative and memorial policy of the Fifth Republic. To a degree, all the presidents of the French Republic from J. Chirac to E. Macron remain faithful to it. This “patriotic version” of the national history provides the ideological foundation for Champs Elysee’s policies toward African nations. These policies, collectively known as “France-Afrique”, represent a latent mechanism for preserving economic and political dependence of the Tropical Africa’s nations on their former colonial master. An alternative version of historical memory interprets colonialism as a crime against humanity, and the African policy of the Champs Elysees as a special form of neocolonialism, designed to promote France's political and economic preferences in the countries that were formerly its colonies. This intellectual tradition is cultivated in the work of F.-X. Verschave and other researchers, members of the non-governmental organization “Survie”.